Member's statement: Dementia Action Week
Member's statement by Mr Mark Durkan on .
- MLA
- Mr Mark Durkan
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 20 May 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Dementia Action Week
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4963717
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As the chair of the all-party group on dementia, I would also like to speak about Dementia Action Week. The Alzheimer's Society has indicated that around 25,000 people live with dementia across the North. However, more than a third of people with dementia do not have a diagnosis, so they cannot access the vital care, support and treatment that they need. I understand that getting a diagnosis can be daunting, but research shows that 97% of people affected by dementia have seen the benefit of a diagnosis. An early and accurate diagnosis helps people to live independently for longer, access existing treatments and avoid ending up in crisis. It also allows people to better understand their condition and plan for their future. Every year, those who are living with dementia but do not have a diagnosis account for around 15,000 visits to A&Es. That puts huge pressure on the wrong part of the health service: it is not good for the patients, the staff or the system. This Dementia Action Week, the Alzheimer's Society is shining a light on the six most common early signs and symptoms of dementia and encouraging people to seek help, if they spot those signs in themselves or a loved one. Anyone with concerns can use its free symptom checklist and seek help.
The six most common symptoms of dementia are memory loss — problems recalling things that have happened recently; difficulty in organising thoughts; struggling to make decisions, solve problems or follow steps; problems with communication — difficulty in following conversations or finding the right words; problems with vision — difficulty in judging distances or perceiving object edges; confusion about time or place, losing track of the time or date or becoming confused about location; and changes in mood or personality, such as becoming unusually anxious, irritable or withdrawn. Over the next 15 years, we will face a 51% jump in dementia cases, which will be the largest rise in the number of people living with dementia across these islands. By 2040, we will have over 37,000 people living with dementia. Each diagnosis has a whole-family impact. Dementia devastates lives, but, as we have heard, it also brings devastation to our economy: it costs over £1 billion currently, and that figure is set to rise to £2 billion by 2040, unless action is taken now.
391 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.79).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.79 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.93 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.07 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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